


Worth It

by Fayaheda



Series: Sterek Collection [16]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Erica Reyes, Alive Vernon Boyd, Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe, Always Female Stiles Stilinski, BAMF Stiles Stilinski, Comedy, Comfort, Demons, Emissary Marin Morrell, F/M, Female Stiles Stilinski, Fluff, Human Derek Hale, Hurt, Magic, Magical Marin Morrell, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Mentions of Others Characters, Older Everybody, Pack Feels, Spark Marin Morrell, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Strong Language, True Alpha Scott McCall, True Love, True Mates, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-05 13:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5376320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fayaheda/pseuds/Fayaheda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Yeah, it's not worth it." Boyd tries reason first, his voice a little calmer and timid, as if he's afraid to tip the other wolf over the edge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Worth It (I)

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know why, but when I think of female Stiles and Derek, I think along the lines of Buffy and Angel. Literally, the truest love I have ever witnessed. Even if it's fictional. Who gives a crap, right? That's why we live on this site. :D
> 
> Anyway, I got sidetracked again, I think that much is clear. I've been bored shitless with my stupid broken ankle having rendered me practically immobile.
> 
> This story is just a bit of fun, no real plot, really. Just a bit of fluff and romance and pack feels.
> 
> So, lemme know your thoughts?
> 
> Thank you for reading! :)

Ever since Derek returned to New York, he's been rather bored, and really doesn't know what to do with himself.

Especially not after seeing... Her.

His mate...

Which he's still in denial about. Even after nearly ten years of knowing, now.

And that's why Derek finds himself still in office room by the early hours of the morning.

The lovely grandfather clock, that was once his mother's, reads; 8:03.

Meanwhile, Derek's bending down and checking his desk over with suspicious eyes and a clearly annoyed expression stretched across his brow. He swears he's tried everything by now, and nothing seems to be working so far. He's at his tether's end, huffing loudly as he rises back up to his full height.

And of course, the werewolf is aware of his new company. Could smell them both before they even let themselves into the store.

Erica and Boyd hang up their coats, and as usual, make a beeline towards the kitchenette first. Of course, the notice their Alpha as they help themselves to some fresh coffee.

Derek ignores them for now, still in his own, little world. And still annoyed. Always annoyed.

Derek grabs a pencil from the pot and gently places it down on the desk. He narrows his eyes in further irritation when he watches it roll across the desk without him even touching it. "Son of bitch." He hisses quietly to himself as he swipes up the pencil before it rolls off of the desk entirely.

Erica arches a brow to herself, a steaming mug in her hands as she leans back against the counter.

"You know when he got back?" Boyd says, his voice low. But he's still unsure if the older wolf can still hear him.

"Last night, around midnight." Erica supplies, her voice equally low. "He text me to let me know he home."

Boyd nods in acknowledgment. He glances over, watching the Alpha through his office window. "And?" He asks, turning back to the she wolf with curious eyes.

"And, what?" Erica shrugs, sipping at her coffee. "He saw Stiles. He was in Beacon Hills for two days, tracking her and that stupid demon Marin saw in her stupid vision." She sighs heavily as she glances over to her Alpha, her expression growing concerned. "So, where's the typical broody Derek?" She looks slightly confused as she watches the Alpha pace around his office, clearly looking for something. "God, this just means that it cut him deeper than usual to see her." She huffs, rolls her eyes, grumbles out, "Look out! Here comes Hurricane Stilinski."

Boyd smiles lightly in amusement at her. "You really think so?" He then asks, glancing back towards his Alpha with some concern. "Maybe he's over her..."

Erica scoffs at that. "You have so much to learn about men, my little, chocolate bear."

Boyd flushes slightly, but manages a rather offended look. "I'm a man."

Erica grins. "Exactly." And this time, when she glances back to her Alpha, her eyes widen in horror. "Oh, my fucking God!" She screams, practically throwing her coffee mug at Boyd before running off.

"What the -" Boyd turns around, his eyes widening, too, when he sees the large dagger his Alpha is holding up. "Oh, my God!" He, too, runs towards the office, not even bothering to dispose of the mug still in his hand.

"Derek, stop!" Erica squeals, holding her hands up in terror.

"Don't do it, man!" Boyd adds, his hands, too, held up, the mug still in his left hand.

"Yes! Don't do it, Derek! Listen to him!" Erica cries, not knowing whether to lunge for him.

"Yeah, it's not worth it." Boyd tries reason first, his voice a little calmer and timid, as if he's afraid to tip the other wolf over the edge.

Derek arches a brow at the both of them. "It's not?"

And okay, he's a little bit of a dick for messing with them, but it's their own fault, this time.

"No!" Erica screeches, looks appalled by his decision. "She's not fricking worth it, okay? No one is worth your life! At least, not like that!" She takes a deep breath to calm herself, then softly adds, "You can't let her get to you, Derek."

"Yeah, you've still got a lot to live for, man." Boyd nods in agreement, all the while, edging closer to his Alpha. "Why don't you let me take that, huh?" He asks carefully, motioning to the large blade.

Derek glances down at the knife before glancing back to the other wolf and simply answers with a calm, "Because I need it to level my desk."

Erica heart just might have stopped beating for a second there. Out of mortification, of course.

"The floor's uneven." Derek grumbles, clearly still annoyed about it.

Boyd's, however, a little smoother about it. He clears his throat and takes a step back as he watches his Alpha slowly bend down to do just what he said he was going to do.

And obviously, Derek can no longer hold onto that amused smirk as he slowly rises back up to face them. "You two thought I was gonna -"

"Boyd did!" Erica yips, eyes wide with a completely different kind of horror, now. "You know how he always jumps to stupid conclusions -"

Boyd sends the loudmouth she wolf a potent glare.

Derek can't help it as he smile widens, the amusement clear in his greeny-blue orbs, now.

"And 'cause, y'know... You saw Stiles and everything..." Erica trails off, now feels slightly guilty.

But she's a lot like Stiles; nosey. But of course she cares about her Alpha.

"It wasn't a social call." Derek says, his voice still (surprisingly - seriously, even he doesn't know how) calm.

Erica arches a brow at that, clearly not believing him. There's no way he didn't get his swerve on, she thinks, biting back a smirk of her own, now.

Derek shoots her a withering look before he replies. "I was only there to protect her. Nothing else. I stayed out of her sight the entire time." He quickly swallows down the aching lump in the back of this throat, hoping neither of them notice. "She didn't even know I was there."

Boyd arches a brow, this time.

He believes his Alpha, because he feels the same, thinks he might about just explode whenever Cora smiles that gorgeous smile of hers. Let alone whenever she smiles at him.

"Really?" Erica arches a brow, too, but she looks slightly annoyed, now.

Derek simply nods in response.

Erica puffs out a light, but clearly bitter chuckle. "That's a little unfair, don't you think?" She asks, snootily adds, "So, you just avoided her." She puts emphasis on 'avoid', plainly just glaring up at him by this point.

Derek sighs, fights back the urge to roll his eyes.

It's not Erica's fault. He knows that. She doesn't understand.

"Look, Stiles is always going to be a part of me, and believe me, that's never gonna change. But she's human and I'm -" Derek scowls. "Not." He huffs as he pulls out his desk chair and slumps heavily into it.

"Oh, please!" Erica barks. "Is that seriously your problem here?" She really can't believe what she's hearing. "Stiles is fricking Wicked Witch of the West or some shit."

"It's true, man." Boyd nods, smiles in amusement. "Allison says she's like a Jedi, now."

Derek smiles to himself upon hearing that. Stiles loves Star Wars, he thinks, miserably. "We already said our goodbyes once. There's no reason to stir things up."

Erica snorts at that. "You say that, but if my ex came to town and stalked me, talked to all of my friends and didn't even so much as say 'hello' to me, I'd be -"

"A little pissed off."

Derek immediately straightens up in his chair, his eyes trained on... Her. His throat dries, and he knows that he looks nothing more than a little deer caught in the headlights of her Jeep.

Erica smiles sheepishly as she slowly turns around to face their new visitor.

Stiles arches a brow, her expectant eyes lay only on Derek as she adds, "Wouldn't you be?"


	2. The Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I doubt it." Erica puffs out a chuckle. "Did you not see the look she was giving our dearest Alpha?"

"Stiles!" Erica exclaims, looks genuinely happy to see the older woman, but feels slightly awkward about the entire situation. "You're here... In New York..."

Boyd rolls his eyes at the she wolf and steps over to the spark. "It's good to see you." He says, wrapping her up in a warm bear hug.

Stiles smiles up at him and of course, hugs him back. "Yeah, you, too. It's been a while."

"No kidding." Boyd huffs out a laugh when she grins up at him.

"So," Erica clears her throat, rolls her eyes at her Alpha, who still seems frozen in his chair. "What brings you to the Big Apple?"

"I'm going up to visit my dad in Seattle for a few days." Stiles explains, her eyes drifting back over to the Alpha. "Just thought I'd stop by for a day. See how you're all doing."

"Well, it's a lovely surprise." Erica forces on a smile, even when she feels the tension in the room thickening by the second.

"Erica," Stiles smiles her usual warm smile as she turns to face the she wolf. "How've you been?"

"Good!" Erica chimes. "I'm good. I've been good..." Then, clears her throat awkwardly. "You?"

"I've been better, to be completely honest with you." Stiles says as she glances back over to her ex-boyfriend, who hasn't even got the balls to look at her right now.

Good, she thinks.

"Uh-huh... Okay..." Erica nods, smiles politely. "Well, we'll just be off, now." She says, suddenly shuffling over to Boyd and grabbing his arm.

"What? Why?" Boyd protests, glares at the she wolf.

There is no fricking way he's going to miss this showdown.

Erica glares back up at him. "Because, Boyd" She grits out, arching her brows and clearly hinting as she says, "You gotta help me with that thing... Remember?"

"What thing?" Boyd looks completely clueless. On purpose, of course. He's not really that stupid. But he does have to bite back a smug smirk.

Stiles watches the exchange between the two Betas with mild amusement.

Meanwhile, Derek's literally two seconds away from practically throwing them out by their scruffs.

Erica let's out a frustrated growl before yelling, "Just move your ass already!"

Stiles continues to watch as the blonde drags the large wolf out of the store, until the bell of the door rings as it shuts behind them.

Derek slowly rises from his chair, gulps silently just before she turns around to face him. "Well, that annoying." He tries, forces on a small smile to lighten the mood.

Nice try, he thinks.

Stiles simply stares back at him, though, it's clear she isn't in the least bit impressed.

Derek tries again. "Can I get you a drink or anything?"

"How about getting me an explanation." Stiles bites out. Her voice is calm, that clearly not being a question, but a demand.

Once again, Derek's frozen on the spot. He doesn't even know what to think, let alone say right now.

"Who do you think you are?" Stiles arches a brow, half glaring when he doesn't answer, only stares at her in bewilderment. "How dare you follow me around, like some stalker. How dare you ask my friends, my family to keep a secret from me."

Two guesses, he thinks, for who told her.

Cough - Scott - cough.

However, Derek knows she's more upset than pissed off, because if she was, she'd be yelling her head off, not spitting out quiet, but trembling words, like she does now.

"I'm sorry." Derek says, because he really is, but mostly because he still doesn't know what the fuck to even say.

"What is this, Derek?" Stiles eyes are shining with tears, but she refuses to let them fall. "Is it some new form of torment you thought just for me?"

"No." Derek frowns, his heart aching at the look on her face. "No, Stiles. I'd never do that to -"

Stiles scoffs, cuts him off. "So, what is it?" She grits out, now plainly glaring over at him. "You can see me, but I can't see you? Is that what game we're playing here?"

"We're not - I'm not playing anything here." Derek says. And he knows he sounds desperate and pathetic, but he just doesn't care. "Believe me, I don't want it like this, but I wrestled with that decision and -"

Stiles cuts him off with another scoff. "Which you made without me!" She finally snaps, finally raises her voice as she takes a step closer to him.

"Look, I only did what I thought was right for the both of us. It's complicated, how all of this happened, Stiles, y'know? How I ended up here, why I left. It's kind of a long story." Although, Derek sighs heavily, mainly because he knows she probably right.

She's Stiles, he thinks, of course she right, she always is.

"You lost control. You scratched me. It hurt. A lot. I got better. You turned into an asshole. Left me. Came back to New York. Took your little sidekicks with you. And now," Stiles glances around. "You own an old record store."

See?

God damn woman is always right.

"Apparently not that long." Derek mumbles to himself.

Stiles ignores him as she says, "So, now, you get Marin to watch me through her visions. Great."

Derek's gaze in downcast to his shoes, the aching lump of guilt settling in the pit of his stomach.

"And you didn't even think that I was important enough to even tell me that you were right there." Stiles grumbles out. "Even though I knew, I can always feel when you're close - did you forget that?" She asks, sounds almost as miserable as he feels.

"No," Derek's eyes snap back up to her, his voice soft. "That's what I'm trying to explain to you - it's because you're important that I didn't tell you. You're the most important person in the world to me, Stiles."

And he really does mean that.

And Stiles knows that. Really, she does. But she's still pissed off. And upset. Her heart feels like it's tearing in fucking half. And no, she's really not exaggerating.

"I'm a big girl, now, Derek." Stiles says, shoots him a pointed look. "I'm not in high school anymore. A lot has happened since you left town."

"I know." Derek nods. "And I respect that."

"Oh, really?" Stiles arches a brow. "Because I don't need you skulking around in the shadows, trying to protect me. I thought we were passed all of that."

"And what if it had been the other way around?" Derek asks, even when he knows it's a pathetic attempt to stand up for himself.

"If it had been the other way around, I would have come to you straight away." Stiles shoots him an almost triumphant look. "And you know that."

Derek huffs.

Busted, he thinks.

Stiles sighs, and in finally having vented her frustration, she relaxes her shoulders and moves a little closer. "Anyway... I guess it's good to have someone watching over us, especially after last night's almost-apocalypse."

Derek smiles slightly at that.

"That was you helping out from the darkness, right?" Stiles arches a brow, but she already knows. Though, she can't help smiling back.

Derek grins somewhat sheepishly as he nods and says, "I was skulking..."

+

[Meanwhile - Downtown Green Café...]

"What'd you think they're doing right now?"

Erica scoffs as she sips at her orange juice. "Stiles is probably beating the shit out of him with a rolled up newspaper or something." She shrugs lazily. "You know how creative she gets."

Boyd chuckles, nods. "So, you don't think they're..." He trails off, arching his brows suggestively.

"I doubt it." Erica puffs out a chuckle. "Did you not see the look she was giving our dearest Alpha?"

"Oh, you mean the one filled with murderous intent?" Boyd asks casually as he sips at his steaming cup of herbal tea.

"That's the one." Erica nods, and shoves another Maryland cookie (whole) into her mouth.


	3. Sterek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sterek?" Boyd looks slightly confused.

"Well, she seemed a little -"

"Less trampy than usual?" Erica supplies with a grin.

Boyd smirks, clearly amused. "Just because she wears Converse, doesn't mean she's trampy." He arches a brow, his smirk only growing. "And didn't you used to wear them?"

"Whatever." Erica rolls her eyes.

Boyd looks all too proud of himself. "Anyway, I was gonna say she looked hurt... Like... More than pissed off..."

"Yeah, well, there's always a lot of that whenever they're together. I guess that's just our Sterek." Erica huffs as she downs the last of her O.J.

"Sterek?" Boyd looks slightly confused.

"Yeah, that's their shipping name." Erica chuckles. "Isaac came up with it ages ago. How do you not know this?"

Boyd simply shrugs.

"Just don't tell Derek." Erica smiles wickedly before finally rising from their booth. "Come on, let's get outta here."

"Where are we going?" Boyd asks, slowly rising, too.

"Oh, they'll probably at each other's throats for a while." Erica says as she pulls on her coat. "We probably have time for early lunch and the director's cut of Les Mis." She arches a brow over at him. "You in?"

Boyd shrugs and nods. "Yeah, why not?"

+

[Meanwhile...]

"Look," Derek sighs heavily. "I'm really sorry if I handled all of this wrong, okay? I mean, what else was I supposed to do?" He asks, his tone slightly pleading.

"I don't know, okay!?" Stiles snaps, then sighs sadly as she glares down at her shoes. "I just know that when you're around - whether I see you or not - I feel you..." She huffs, looks completely miserable when she rises her eyes to his. "And it hurts..."

"I know." Derek nods, moves closer to her without even realising until he's standing right in front of her. "It hurts me, too." He says, his voice low and soft.

Stiles nods, backs away, but only a little.

She always feels like she's being pulled towards him whenever he's around. And that hurts, too, when he always seemed to pull away.

"So, let's just stick to the plan." Stiles says. "We stay away from each other until enough time has passed..."

"Right..."

But Derek knows that will never happen, that there's no amount of forever that will keep him from her feeling for her.

And Stiles knows that, too.

Nonetheless, she does try.

"And given enough time, we should be able to..."

"Forget?" Derek supplies, all the while, trying his best to keep from closing in on her.

She's so close.

He can smell the vanilla, taste it, even.

He can feel her, which makes things all that much worse.

He almost can't help himself.

Stiles frowns, but nods. "Right..."

"So..."

"So, I'm gonna..." Stiles manages to tear herself away, forces herself to turn around. "Start forgetting..."

Derek grits his teeth and balls his hands into tight fists, all to keep himself from following her.

Stiles only reaches the open doorway of his office when she hears the loud noise of glass shattering. She swirls around instantly, her eyes widening in horror.

Derek swirls around just in time to see the outer window to his office crashing inwards. Confusion hits him for a split second, and then, his fight instinct kicks in.

Clearly, it's a demon. With dark green skin, small black horns sprouting from his forehead. But unlike most, he wears, what looks like a genuine Samurai outfit. Not to mention the fact that he sports a large Samurai sword, too.

Derek lurches backwards, narrowly missing the first swipe of the demon's blade.

"Derek!" Stiles exclaims, eyes filled with terror.

Derek snarls, claws swiping for the demon, but it, too, ducks, though, easily so.

Stiles summons her speed to catch the demon from behind, then, summons her strength and sends a hard kick it's way.

The demon flies back, smashing into the nearest wall and denting it with the sheer force.

Derek is by her side in a heartbeat. He grabs the demon's blade while it's dazed.

Stiles sends a hard punch to the demon's face, distracting it.

+

Erica's eyes widen, and as swiftly as she had entered the store, she turns on her heel and walks back out.

"What's going on? You heard that, too, right?" Boyd looks confused, still using his keen ears to listen in.

"The Sterek show's happening." Erica says, walking back down the road. "Which, I'm guessing, means we have the rest of the day off."

"Well," Boyd follows her, hesitating even as he protest. "Shouldn't we break it up?"

"And get out faces flattened in the process?" Erica scoffs loudly. "No, thank you."

+

The demon sends a punch to Stiles' face before grabbing her by the back of the neck and throwing her against the same wall she'd thrown him against.

"Stiles!" Derek roars, his eyes blazing red as he sends the blade into the demon's gut.

The demon tears the sword away from the werewolf, the blade still in his gut as he suddenly turns and leaps back out of the now, broken window.

"Ugh," Stiles groans as she pulls herself back up onto her feet.

Derek's beside her instantly, helping her up. "Are you okay?" He asks, eyes the bloody cut on her brow with deep concern.

"Yeah," Stiles offers a small smile. "So..." She arches a brow, motions towards the window. "Friend of yours?"

"Nope." Derek shakes his head. "Never seen it before in my life."

"Huh... It was rude." Stiles glares after the demon. "We should totally go kill it."

Derek can't help smiling, because fuck, he really does love this woman. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Stiles can't help puffing out a small laugh. "Uh," She glances down at her now grubby blouse, thanks to the stupid, rude demon, then smiles sheepishly up at the wolf. "Got some place I can change around here?"

Derek chuckles lightly. "Yeah. C'mon." He nods, makes his way to the door and motions for her to follow.

Honestly, he thinks, what is the point? It's inevitable. It's as if they'd never even been apart.


	4. Keeping Score

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek scoffs, and it's his turn to look offended. Though, only to cover up the hurt he feels. "So, what? We're keeping score, now? I didn't know that's how things we're gonna be for us from now on." He scoffs again, louder and brushes lightly passed her and continues walking a little ahead of her.

Almost an hour later, Derek and Stiles find themselves underground. Or to be more specific, the sewers.

"It's heading towards the river." Derek notes as they walk side by side.

"Are you sure?" Stiles asks mostly out of habit.

She may not be a tracker, but she does trust the werewolf's keen senses.

Derek nods, then simply explains, "I wounded it. I can smell it's blood."

"Lovely." Stiles wrinkles her nose, doesn't notice the wolf smirking to himself. "Anyway," She huffs as they continue on walking. "If your wonderful staff hadn't just ran out of us, they could have helped with the research. Y'know, find out what this thing is exactly and why the heck it wants to kill us."

Derek's about to answer, when a small rustling noise echoes through the sewers.

Stiles swirls around instantly, holding up the large, silver-plated stake she's been sporting.

"It's okay," Derek already knows what it is, and smiles lightly as he glances over his shoulder at the tiny creature. "It's just a rat."

Stiles visibly shivers, looks disgusted. "I hate rats." She spits out.

At this, Derek can't help puffing out a small, but clearly amused chuckle. "So, you can fight a demon, but your afraid of rats?" He arches a brow, shoots her a teasing smile.

Stiles glares somewhat pathetically over at him. "I'm not afraid of them, I just think they're gross."

Derek bites back another smug smirk. "It's not a vampire, I don't even know why you bothered to bring that." He says, motioning to the silver stake.

"Because I know how to use silver." Stiles shoots him a smug look of her own instead.

Because silver is like a fricking magic conductor.

Which the wolf should totally already know.

Ugh.

"Besides," Stiles adds snootily. "It's a lot handier than you big-ass battle axe." She says, motioning to the weapon in his right hand.

"A stake can't cut something clean in half." Derek argues, shooting her a snooty look of his own. "And talking about cutting things - what if it cuts your arm off?"

Stiles narrows her eyes at him as they both stop walking for a moment. "Look," She huffs, runs a hair through her short boy hair cut as Erica dubs it. "Can we just stop fighting and get on with the hunting? I'd like to get this over with before it gets dark."

"It's fine, Stiles," Derek sighs heavily, ignores his aching heart. "If you wanna leave, then just leave. I can handle this myself."

"No way." Stiles bites out, looks slightly offended. "I'm not a slacker or a coward. Plus," She shrugs, turning away from him to start walking again. "You bailed Scott and the rest of us out last night. And I'd like us to be even before I go anyway."

Derek scoffs, and it's his turn to look offended. Though, only to cover up the hurt he feels. "So, what? We're keeping score, now? I didn't know that's how things we're gonna be for us from now on." He scoffs again, louder and brushes lightly passed her and continues walking a little ahead of her.

Stiles stares after him for a few seconds, then, sighs tiredly, unable to help feeling slightly guilty, now.

Ugh!

+

[Meanwhile - Cora's Apartment...]

"Hey." Cora smiles as she pulls her front door wider open to let the two older Betas in.

"Hey, Cora." Boyd shoots her a small smile and quickly shuffles passed her before he can embarrass himself. As usual.

"'Sup?" Erica chirps, sauntering into the place as if she owns it. As usual.

Cora smiles lightly in amusement to herself as she closes the front door behind them. "So, what're you guys doing here? It's only lunchtime. Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Stiles is back and they're both duking it out right now, so we decided it was best to leave them to it." Erica states as she slips off her coat and hangs it over one of the kitchen bar stools.

"No," Boyd shoots the blonde a withering look. "You decided."

"Whatever." Erica shrugs, turns to the other she wolf. "Got any Oreos?"

Cora chuckles lightly, but nods. "Top, right hand cupboard."

"Thanks, sweets!" Erica chimes, bounds instantly towards worktops.

"So, Stiles is in town, huh?" Cora arches a brow. "I hope they don't kill each other." She winces at the thought of it.

"Nah, they'll be fine." Erica insists as she tears into the box and shoves the first Oreo into her mouth.

Cora gives her a suspicious look. "Are you high again?"

"I can't help it," Erica smiles sheepishly. "Those space cakes are just so delicious. I mean - God! They pack so much fucking fudge into them!"

Boyd rolls his eyes, shakes his head in dismay at his best friend.

And Cora can't help laughing at the blonde.

+

"Are you picking anything up?" Stiles asks, watches him closely as he lifts his head and scents the air. "Because all I'm smelling is stinky sewage." She wrinkles her nose in disgust.

Derek turns to the tunnel to their left, his eyes burning red as he scans the area. And sure enough, he spots a small splatter of bright green substance. The demon's blood, he can smell that much.

"Tunnel number one, it is, then." Stiles says as she walks over to him.

Derek crouches, swipes one finger along the green blood and holds it up to his nose.

And Stiles doesn't really know why, but that kind of turns her on.

Not the blood. Ew.

No, it's the wolf himself.

She often forgets his hidden talents.

And yes, okay, Scott and most of her friends have the same talents...

But Derek's always been just that little bit better than the rest. The way he uses everything about the wolf, the way he balances himself on the inside.

But mostly, the way he would die for any one of the people he cares deeply for, without so much as a second thought.

He and Scott really are alike, she thinks, briefly, smiling to herself, they both care too much.

"He's close. Come on." Derek rises to his feet, slowly stalks off down the left tunnel.

Stiles follows silently beside him, no longer behind him, like she used to.

After a few moments, Derek wobbles a little on his feet and has to stop. He frowns, his vision slowly starting to fuzz a little, too, and he has to lean against the wall for a second.

"Derek?" Stiles eyes him with deep concern. "Are you okay?"

"I feel weird..." Derek mutters out, meanwhile, trying to keep himself from vomiting.

"Weird, how?"

"My heart is racing, and..." Derek swallows down the sickly lump in his throat. "I feel kinda sick..." He glances up at her.

And Stiles almost throws her arms around him when he looks at her with a little fear in his eyes.

"B-but..." Stiles frowns. "Werewolves don't get sick..." She looks back at him, as if he'll somehow just sprout out the answer.

"I know." Derek shoots her the same look he shot her that time she asked him if he got shot by a silver bullet and then he called her an idiot.

And really, if she wasn't so fucking worried right now, Stiles would laugh so hard at the bitchface he pulls at her in that moment.

And what a smug bastard, she thinks with mild amusement, even in the face of possible death, he manages to find the time to be sarcastic.

Although, maybe he learned that from her. She can't be too sure anymore.

"Alright, that's it," Stiles shoots him a stern look. "You're going home. I'll go after the demon. He can't have gone too far yet."

"No, Stiles -"

"Do not even try to argue with me on this." Stiles says, voice firm. "I can handle myself."

Derek scowls, doesn't like it on bit, and yet, still finds himself agreeing. "Fine. He huffs. "There's a crappy underground bar along the river front. From what I heard, demons go there to get patched up."

"Got it... Thanks." Stiles smiles faintly, trying not to think about how pale his skin is quickly turning.

Derek gently grasps her elbow when she turns to leave.

Stiles sends him a questioning look.

"Be careful." Derek forces on a smile, then, uttering the words she always utters to him whenever their in this kind of situation; "Don't die."

Stiles chuckles lightly and nods. "Yeah, you, too."

And she really fucking does mean that. Really doesn't know what she would do if anything bad were to happen to her wolf.

+

"Whoa!" Cora whistles loudly as she looks over the chaotic mess of her brother's office.

"Wow," Boyd arches a brow, looks slightly impressed. "When they fight, do they fight."

"Yeah, great." Erica grunts out. "Two guesses for who has to clean this shit up."

"Where the heck are they?" Boyd asks, mostly to himself as he walks slowly around the trashed room.

Erica slowly walks up to the broken window, glancing down to the shattered glass. "Looks like they took it onto the street."

"No." Cora doesn't look convinced. "Something else happened." She scents the air. "I can smell blood."

"Oh, God! It's Derek's, isn't it!? She killed him! Stiles killed Derek!" Erica wails, suddenly frantic.

"No." Cora shoots the blonde a withering look. "It's demon blood."

"Ugh!" Erica glares at her. "Don't scare me like that! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?"

"Pretty sure werewolves can't have heart attacks." Cora counters, staring blankly.

Erica stares back at her for a moment before growling in frustration. "It's like talking to a mini Derek!"

Once again, Cora can't help smirking smugly.

Oh, how she loves to annoy Erica.

However, nowhere near as much as she enjoys making Boyd squirm.

In the girls' distraction, Boyd's the only one to notice their Alpha finally trailing slowly back into the store.

"Holy shit! Derek!" Erica spots him, then, rushes out of the office and over to him.

Cora and Boyd quickly follow.

"What happened!? Did you and Stiles have a fight? Or was this just another sexscapade between the two of you?" Erica asks, eyeing the rather weary looking Alpha with great concern.

Cora shoots the blonde a half-hearted glare.

Derek rolls his eyes before answering, "Stiles and I were attacked by an unknown demon, wielding a big-ass Samurai sword."

"Yeah, Cora said she could smell demon blood." Boyd says.

"We tracked it, but I think something happened to me when I touched it's blood." Derek explains, just as his shoulders slump and his head half rolls.

"Whoa - okay! It's home time for you." Boyd is beside him in an instant, grabs one of his Alpha's arms and places it around the back of his shoulders.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Cora says, eyeing her brother with dread, now.

Fuck knows what's actually wrong with him.

But he's a werewolf, so it can't be good, can never be good.


	5. Champion Warriors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marin smirks in amusement as she continues reading from the website. "Apparently, they rarely actually ever kill, however, when they do, they take out players on our side of the team - mostly champion warriors - I guess, like you and Stiles."

[Half Hour Later - Derek's Apartment...]

"Why is this happening again?" Derek airs loudly, looks somewhere between confused and annoyed.

"Again?" Marin arches a brow. "You've been human before?"

"Yeah, it was that whole thing with Kate and the deadpool ages ago." Erica states, having been there to witness it all for herself.

Marin nods in acknowledgement, then, rakes her eyes over her Alpha. "Well, you seem perfectly healthy to me." She raises a hand an touches it to his forehead. "Your temperature's normal." She notes, then asks, "So, what happened? You touched some demon's blood and now, somehow, you're human?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Derek nods.

Marin looks perplexed. She's never heard of a demon that has the ability to turn a werewolf into a human.

"He passed out in the store a half hour ago and by the time we brought him home, he was human." Cora explains, shooting her brother a deeply unimpressed look.

"I'm gonna try Stiles phone again." Boyd says as he pulls out his own and walks towards the kitchen.

"No," Derek stops him.

Boyd pauses, shoots the eldest wolf a questioning look.

Derek walks towards the front door. "I'm gonna go find her."

"Uh, no, you're not." Cora leaps in front of him. "You're a human, now, you could get hurt."

Derek shoots his baby sister a withering look. "I'll be fine."

"The demon is still out there." Cora points out. "I'll go."

"Fine." Derek huffs, but nods in agreement. "She's down by that demon bar along the river front. Oh, and don't tell her what's happened to me, please? I wanna tell her myself."

"Got it." Cora nods before swirling around an swiftly making her exit.

"What did this demon look like?" Marin asks as she walks over to the coffee table. She sits on the couch, pulling her laptop out of her bag.

"Green skin, little black horns, red eyes..." Derek lists, then adds, "Oh, and he was wearing a ancient Samurai outfit."

Marin nods as she pulls up the internet and begins her search for the supernatural beast.

"Coffee, anyone?" Boyd offers, earning a round of nods before going into the kitchen.

Erica plops down on the couch beside the Druid, simply watching the screen of the laptop out of boredom.

"Well, your description of the Samurai outfit seems to have narrowed the search down considerably." Marin notes, arching a brow at the screen on her lap.

"To how many?" Derek asks.

"One." Marin smiles triumphantly.

Derek walks over to the women to take a look for himself. And sure enough - "That's it." He nods. "That's the demon."

"It's called a Mayrah demon. Seems like they're pretty powerful." Marin notes.

"Yeah, it sure packed a hard punch." Derek nods, wears his infamous scowl.

"They're an ancient Japanese race of demons. Almost extinct by now." Marin skims through the pages. "They're assassins, or a soldier of darkness."

"Naturally." Erica rolls her eyes. "Why can't they ever be a soldier of sunshine a puppies or something?"

Marin smirks in amusement as she continues reading from the website. "Apparently, they rarely actually ever kill, however, when they do, they take out players on our side of the team - mostly champion warriors - I guess, like you and Stiles."

Derek nods in acknowledgement, but he's clearly concerned for Stiles all the more, now.

He should have just gone himself.

Cora be damned!

"And like Scott?" Boyd arches a brow as he enters the living room and places the tray of steaming hot coffee mugs onto the coffee table.

"Yes." Marin nods. "Thank you." She smiles gratefully at the biggest wolf as she picks up one of the mugs.

Boyd simply offers a curt nod before taking a mug for himself and going to sit on one of the comfy chairs opposite the couch.

"Well, shouldn't we warn him?" Erica asks.

"I doubt it even knows about Scott." Marin states. "These things sense their targets nearby before striking. There's a large ruby embedded into their foreheads,"

"Yeah," Derek nods. "I saw it."

"It's their power source." Marin says. "And it says here, the only way to kill a Mayrah demon is to smash the jewel to weaken it before cutting off it's head."

"Doesn't sound too difficult." Derek shrugs.

Erica scoffs. "You're human, now." She shoots him a pointed look as she, rather sarcastically, asks, "How're you supposed to fight a demon?"

"I'll find a way." Derek replies, somewhat snootily.

Erica arches a brow, scoffs even louder.

"Or," Boyd shoots him a slightly less harsh pointed look. "You could just let your pack help you. Like it's supposed to."

"Right." Erica nods, shooting the eldest ex-wolf a glare. "See? He understood what I meant."

Derek merely rolls his eyes at her. "This is my mess."

"Derek," Boyd tries to reason with him. "You're still our Alpha. Wolf or not. You're the reason we're all still alive. So, just let us help you... Please?"

Derek sighs loudly, not quite willing to give in, but at least willing to compromise.

He's not a total dick.

"Fine. Whatever." He says, "Let's just wait for Stiles and Cora before we think about doing anything drastic."

"Okay." Boyd nods. "Fair enough."

"Says here the demon needs vast amounts of water to survive. Any kind, fresh or salt or even rain water." Marin pipes up, still busy reading through the site.

"Yeah," Derek nods, then, explains, "It was heading towards the river when Stiles and I were tracking it through the sewers."

"Ah-ha!" Marin chimes. "'-veins run with the blood of humanity.'" She quotes. "There it is!"

"There what is?" Erica shoots her a curious look.

"They are the only demon ever to share the same blood as humans. It's like, ninety-eight percent human, and the other two percent is the what made you turn human."

Derek blinks. "I don't follow..."

"Their blood is what allows them to track their targets through their purity, and it also just so happens to regenerate the body when injured..." Marin arches a brow, seeing the look of realisation hit her Alpha.

"- And when I touched the blood, it saw the werewolf gene as an impurity and eradicated it altogether." Derek finishes, his eyes widening.

"Bingo." Marin nods.

"Holy shit..." Derek breathes, doesn't know whether to excited or just panic. "Does that mean I'll stay human?"

"I have no idea. That's what I'm working on right now." Marin states as she clicks and types away.

"Human Derek..." Erica glances over at him, looks slightly in awe. "Like, real human Derek..."

Derek shifts uncomfortably under her gaze and shoots her a glare simply by reflex.

That doesn't deter the she wolf, however, as she continues to stare at him. Now, smiling goofily, too.

Much to Derek's irritation.

"Maybe you and Stiles can finally get back together. And stay together, this time." Boyd says, earning a glare from Derek and a grin from Erica. "What?" He smiles innocently. "You know you were thinking it."

Derek's jaw tightens.

Because Boyd's totally right, of course.

Ugh.

Boyd grins. "See?"

Derek simply glares. Though, only because he secretly wants to smile.


	6. The Gateway for Lost Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek watches her set up for a moment, his eyes then drifting up the in Latin inscription carved into the wall, above the arc. "'The Gateway for Lost Souls' -" He reads aloud, arching a brow over at the Druid. "- Is under the local post office?"

"Ding-dong! The demon is dead!" Cora chimes as she's followed into her brother's apartment by his ex-girlfriend.

"It is?" Erica arches a brow.

"Yep." Cora smiles proudly as she says, "Stiles caved it's head in."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have been able to do that if you hadn't had smashed the stupid ruby on it's head." Stiles says, smiles back at her.

Cora grins. "We make a good team."

Stiles nods, grins back. "We certainly do."

Derek arches a brow at the rather flirtatious look they give one another. He knows they're doing it on purpose, which is why it doesn't annoy him as much as it used to.

Boyd looks deeply impressed, however, as does Erica.

"Well, time to celebrate, I think." Marin smirks over at the ex-wolf.

"Can we talk?" Derek suddenly asks her, shoots her a pointed look.

Marin arches a brow, but nods as she stands from the couch and follows him out of the front door and down the dimly lit corridor. "What's going on?" She asks almost immediately.

"Before I tell Stiles, I need to know why this happened." Derek says.

Marin frowns, looks slightly confused. "You know why."

"No, I know what happened to me, but not why. I'm not meant to human, Marin." Derek says, looks deeply troubled. "My calling in life is to help others. And I can't do that like this. I've always been a wolf. I mean, what if..." He purses his lips to keep from tearing up like a fool in front of her.

But Marin knows better. "What if you're useless, now?" She supplies with a soft tone and a sympathising look.

Derek swallows down the aching lump in the back of his throat, barely manages a nod in response.

"Derek," Marin sighs heavily. "Who the fuck even cares?"

Derek shoots her a slightly offended look.

Marin chuckles. "I meant - the demon's dead, you're human, and more importantly normal, which is what you wanted for Stiles. Derek, you can be happy. And I mean really happy, for as long as you both live. But y'know what I really think?"

Derek arches a brow, silently urges her to go on.

Marin smiles as she says, "I think Stiles loves you, and always will, no matter what you are."

"And what if she doesn't?" Derek voice cracks slightly.

"Well, now, you're just being ridiculous." Marin says, ignoring that notion altogether.

"So, why do I get the feeling that you're not exactly telling me everything here?" Derek glares at her.

"Because I'm not." Marin says simply. "You're on a need-to-know basis, just like I am, remember? That's why I took these stupid visions from the stupid Powers That Be," She glares back. "Which, by the way, are fucking painful, all so I could help you help the stupid helpless."

"I love your compassion." Derek says, biting back an amused smirk.

Marin's glare only darkens.

"Look," Derek sighs tiredly. "Before I even tell Stiles, I just wanna make sure all of this isn't gonna backfire on me... Like it always does."

"Okay, fair enough." Marin nods. "So, what'd you suppose?"

"I wanna talk to the Powers That Be." Derek says.

"Whoa! What?" Marin's eyes widen in horror. "Oh no. Nooo. No, no, no. No."

"And why not?" Derek huffs out, glaring at her again.

"Well, for one thing; it's way, way easier said, than done." Marin states, shooting him a "duh!" look. "The Powers That Be don't even exist in this reality. You have to approach them through channels. Lots and lots of really, really dangerous channels. I wouldn't even know where to begin to tap into them."

"Well, y'know what? Try!" Derek hisses, shooting her a withering glare. "I know you have a connections. And I can't exactly ask Stiles to do it for me, can I?"

Marin huffs, but finally, looks defeated. "Alright, fine!" She hisses back, glaring up at him. "I guess that we could maybe try to contact the Oracles." She grumbles out.

"Okay. Good. We'll do that, then." Derek nods, perks up considerably. He then adds, "Now." as he shoots her a clearly hinting look.

"Fine. Whatever." Marin says, then, snootily adds, "But if they turn you into ass hair, don't say I didn't warn you."

Derek rolls his eyes. "Wait here." He commands before walking back into his apartment.

"What's going on? More trouble?" Stiles arches a brow, looks mildly concerned from her place on the couch in between both the she wolves.

"No. Everything's good." Derek offers a smile. "Marin and I have just gotta run an errand for a friend of hers. He's desperate, apparently." He rolls his eyes for extra effort.

Stiles nods, shoots him a smile in return. "Okay. Well, I'll be here for another few hours, at least."

"I won't be long, I promise." Derek says.

+

[Downtown - A Half Hour Later...]

Once again, Derek finds himself roaming through the sewers, this time, with his emissary, rather than his ex-girlfriend.

After at least ten minutes of walking, Marin leads him into an underground chamber, made entirely of old-looking stone. And on the furthest wall, is a large, white arc etched into the stone.

"This is it." Marin tells him, then, moves to stand in front of the small stone column in front of the wall. It only reaches her waist in height and laying on top of the column is an old, black, marble bowl.

Derek watches her set up for a moment, his eyes then drifting up the in Latin inscription carved into the wall, above the arc. "'The Gateway for Lost Souls' -" He reads aloud, arching a brow over at the Druid. "- Is under the local post office?"

"If you think about it, it does kinda make sense." Marin says with a casual shrug. "Now, listen," She says, turns to face him and looks slightly anxious. "From what I've heard, the Oracles are very unpredictable at the best of times. So, no messing about once you get in. Just ask your questions and get the hell outta there."

"Aren't you coming?" Derek asks, looks a little confused.

"No." Marin scoffs, somewhat bitterly. "Messengers aren't allowed, only warriors." She turns back to the bowl, grabbing the small bag of herbs from her pocket. "Okay, if your heart is truly pure... And if I do this right," She smiles sheepishly when he glares at her. "We should survive..."

"Have you done this before?" Derek asks, eyes her suspicious.

"Not exactly..." Marin's sheepish smile only grows.

"So, no, then." Derek huffs.

"Shut up and lemme concentrate." Marin hisses.

Derek merely rolls his eyes, but does as he's told.

Marin grabs the lighter from her pocket, setting light to the herbs in her hands before tossing it into the bowl. "'We beseech access to the knowing ones...'" She says, loud and clear, as if she's talking to the wall itself.

Derek's eyes widen as the arc in the wall suddenly glows with a bright, white light.

"Hey, look at that, I did it." Marin grins proudly to herself before turning to face the ex-wolf. "You're in. Go."

Derek nods and walks into the light, even as it blinds him through his eyes screwed tightly shut. It finally subsides, and he stops just on time to see two gold-skinned figures standing in a much larger, white, marble arc.

"Come before us, lower being." The man speaks, his voice soft, but his tone sharp.

Derek slowly shuffles forward, all wolf grace lost to him.

The woman speaks up then, "What have you brought us?" She arches a brow a perfectly shaped white brow, looks expectant.

"Oh, uh..." Derek glances behind him for help from his emissary, only to find nothing but the white light that fills the vacant and rather spacious chamber.

"You call us forth and bring us no offering?" The man seems appalled, his large black orbs narrowing slightly.

"Wait, I," Derek grabs the Rolex from his wrist and holds it up. "I brought you this."

The woman holds up her left hand and the watch goes sailing out of Derek's hand and into her own.

The man looks over the watch in his sister's hands and smiles knowingly at her.

The woman grins, seems very pleased with their gift. "I love time." She gushes lightly. "There is so little, yet so much of it."

The man smiles at his sister before turning his attention back to Derek. "Well?" He arches a brow, silently urges him to ask his questions.

"What's really happened to me?" Derek asks first.

The woman arches a brow, takes a small step closer to him. "It's true, then, brother," She says, looks a little surprised as she glances over the ex-wolf. "He is no longer one of our warriors."

"Indeed." The man nods, now, also looks intrigued as well as surprised.

And just by their reactions, Derek has his answer. "So, it was really the demon's blood that did this to me? It wasn't the Powers That Be?"

He only asks to make sure, of course.

"The Powers That Be?" The woman scoffs lightly. "No. Why? Did you save all of humanity? Did you avert an apocalypse?" She asks, clearly taunting him.

Derek tries very hard not to glare, to be respectful. Because he knows that even as a werewolf, they could easily squash him like a tiny bug.

"You faced a Mayrah demon. So, what?" The man says. "Life goes on."

"My life. As a human..." Derek tries to let it all sink in properly. "So, I'm not poisoned or under a spell?"

The man glances towards his sister.

The woman tilts her head back ever so slightly, looks upwards and then, after a beat, she glances back to the ex-wolf to answer him. "The Auguries say not. If it has happened, it is meant to be."

The man nods and says, "From this day, you shall grow and die as any other mortal man shall."

"Privy to all attendant pains," The woman smirks knowingly as she adds, "And pleasures."

Stiles' image is the first to flash in Derek's mind, and if the woman's look is anything to go by, she probably already knew that it would.

"However," The man adds, shoots him a pointed look. "That which we serve, is no longer that which you serve. You are released from your championship."

"That's it?" Derek asks as he watches both Oracles turn away from him. "I'm free?"

The bright, white light seems to consume him whole, and when Derek opens his eyes again, he's standing back in the old, stone sewer chamber.

"Oh, great. It didn't work." Marin grumbles with a huff.

"Yeah, it did." Derek informs her as he turns to face her.

"What?" Marin looks deeply confused. "You just went in this instant..."

"What?" Derek looks a little confused, too, now.

"Check your watch." Marin says.

"I can't." Derek shoots her a pointed glare. "Next time, maybe remind me to bring a gift?"

"Oh, shit." Marin groans, looks slightly appalled - as did the female Oracle. "I knew I forgot something."

"Yeah, thanks." Derek mutters.

"Whatever." Marin waves a dismissive hand. Then, quite excitedly, asks, "So, what happened? What'd they say?"

"Well," Derek frowns slightly. "They're a little confusing. But... The gist of it?"

Marin nods, edging closer in anticipation.

"I'm free." Derek grins, a real grin.

Because it's been so fucking long since the last time.

"It's real?" Marin asks, eyes wide in awe.

Derek nods, grin widening. "It's real."

"I can't fucking believe this." Marin breathes, a small smile slapped across her face. "I mean, no more fighting for you..."

Derek feels excited just by the thought of that.

No fighting.

No suffering.

No dying.

At least, not for a long time yet.

Well, hopefully...


	7. Worth It (II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Stiles," Derek sighs, slips his hands into her own and loosely laces their fingers. "I'm not saying that I don't want you. That's never been the problem, and trust me, it never will be." He smiles when she blushes again. "I'm just saying that it's worth it for us to wait, just so I can be sure that you're not gonna get hurt again."

"I still can't believe this." Marin says, wearing a bright smile. "I mean, no offence to werewolves or anything."

Derek grins, looks rather excited as he grips the steering wheel. "I know." He nods. "What do I do, now? Y'know? I have this whole new life spread out before. I don't even know where to start."

"Right." Marin nods, chuckles lightly. "It must be overwhelming for you. You can pretty much do whatever you want, now, without having to worry about looking over your shoulder for hunters, or worse."

"Right. Yeah..." Derek nods, looks rather bewildered at the thought of that.

Marin bites back a knowing smirk as she says; "I guess the final question, now, is: what do you want?"

And of course, Derek already knows what he wants.

+

[A Half Hour Later...]

Stiles is crossing the street to Jeep when Derek's black Camaro pulls up in the road beside her. She turns to face it just as he rolls down his window. "Hey. Where's Marin?" She asks, noticing that he's alone, now.

"I took her home." Derek says, then asks, "Where are you going?"

"Back to my hotel room." Stiles says. "I don't have to check out for few hours yet, so I thought I'd get my moneys worth."

Derek nods. "Mind if I tag along?" He asks, sounds all too hopeful.

"Um, no?" Stiles arches a brow. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Derek shakes his head and chuckles lightly. "I just wanna talk."

Stiles frowns, looks both intrigued and confused. "Uh, alright." She nods, motions to her Jeep and says, "Follow me, then."

+

[The Record Store - Meanwhile...]

"This plant was thriving just this morning. Ugh!" Erica growls as she dumps yet another trash bag beside her boss' office doorway.

Boyd dumps another beside it. "That's the last one. Thank God."

Erica scoffs as she glares at the withering plant on Derek's desk. "Look at this plant, Boyd."

Boyd glances to the plant, then, glances back to the she wolf and arches a brow. "So? We'll just buy him a new one."

Erica shoots him a withering look. "That's not the point. I don't give a shit about the plant. I'm just saying; where ever Stiles leads, darkness fricking follows."

"Darkness follows pretty much all of us, babe." Boyd says, shoots her a pointed look in return.

"Whatever." Erica rolls her eyes as she plops down in Derek's chair. "Just look at it, though. I mean, how else would you explain it?"

"Jealousy?" Boyd arches a brow, tries, but fails to bite back a smirk.

Erica scoffs loud. "As if."

"I'm just saying..." Body teases, using her previous words against her.

Erica glares up at him. "Oh, please. Why would I be jealous of Stiles?"

"'Cause... Y'know..." Boyd shrugs, his smirk widening as he perches on the corner of the desk in front of her. "You used to have a thing for Derek, way back in the olden days."

"Yeah, I thought he was hott, I still do. Duh. I do have eyes. But I never had a crush on him, for your information." Erica replies all too snootily.

"If you say so." Boyd says as he turns his face to the side to hide another boyish smirk.

"Oh, grow up!" Erica hisses, only causing him to laugh.

+

"Wow! When you said things were insane..."

Cora chuckles. "Yeah, I still can't quite get my head around it."

Scott huffs through the phone. "Great. That means I won't be seeing much of my best friend for a while. Again."

Cora smirks to herself. "Do I detect a hint of jealous from the mighty True Alpha?" She asks, clearly teasing him.

Scott puffs out a laugh. "Just a hint." He shamelessly admits.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about that too much." Cora says. "I don't think they'll rush back into anything. Not after what happened last time."

"Oh, please!" Scott scoffs. "Derek's human, now. Stiles is the one who should be afraid of hurting him."

"Yeah," Cora chuckles lightly. "I heard she's pretty bad-ass, these days."

"That, she is." Scott says, sounds rather proud as he does.

"Besides, I'm sure Sterek are just enjoying a nice, cup of coffee right now." Cora says.

Scott scoffs loudly at that. "Either that, or he's frigging her senseless on the kitchen table..."

"Dude! That's my brother!" Cora groans, glaring to herself as she hears the idiot Alpha laughing down the phone.

+

In her hotel room, Stiles and Derek are in the small kitchenette, sitting opposite on another at the small, breakfast table.

After Derek told her about certain recent events that involved him, Stiles found herself rather speechless, and surprisingly mixed with several different emotions.

Excitement and disappointment being the ones that confuse her the most.

But for the most part, what's mostly surprising, is that they've just been sitting there, at the table, making nothing, but small talk every now and then. And oddly, though they are comfortable around each other in general, this seems to make for a very awkward situation.

And neither of them know exactly why.

This should be easy, they both think.

"You want some more?" Stiles asks, mainly to fill the horrid silence as she motions to his empty mug.

"No, I'm good. Thanks." Derek says, shoots her a small smile.

Stiles nods, shoots him a small smile in return.

"I'm really sorry I kissed you like that." Derek blurts out, again, mainly to fill the silence.

"You are?" Stiles frowns, can't help it when she looks slightly hurt.

She can never hide her emotions around him, annoyingly enough.

Ugh.

"Well, no, not for the kiss itself..." Derek says, still feels the ache in his chest at her look of disappointment.

It's weird, that he doesn't feel as strongly as he used to.

He still loves Stiles more than anything, and that will never change. But that's not the point here.

It's all of his emotions. No longer keen, like they once were. Like all of his senses, too.

He was born a werewolf, after all. So this will take some getting used to, he thinks.

"Oh." Stiles' expression seems to perk up slightly. "Good." She smiles, can't help blushing when he smiles back at her. "I-I mean, 'cause... As far as kisses go... I, uh... I thought it was above average... Maybe well above average..."

"It was incredible." Derek grins, loves how adorable she is when she's nervous and babbling.

God, he loves her babbling.

Stiles bites back a grin of her own.

"I just think that maybe we shouldn't rush back into things." Derek says, doesn't know why the fuck he says it.

Ugh.

"Not that I don't wanna rush." Derek quickly adds when he seems her eyes dim slightly. "Believe me, I really do."

"Right." Stiles nods, sighs tiredly as she leans back in her seat. "You spoked to the Oracles, and they said that you're human for good. But how do we know that they're really legit? That they actually speak for the Powers That Be? I mean, they could be tricksters. It wouldn't be the first time."

Derek nods, knows exactly what she's thinking as he adds, "Or there could be another loophole that we don't know about."

Stiles nods in agreement.

She really does forget how well he reads her sometimes, and it still amazes her.

"So," Derek sighs heavily as he rises from his seat. "It'd probably be best to wait for a little while."

"Right." Stiles nods, slowly rises from her seat, too. "Just so see this sticks..."

"Right..." Derek doesn't notice how close they are until he's towering right over her.

"And even if it does," Stiles tries, but fails not to get lost in his pretty bluey-green orbs. "Things could still get complicated..."

"Right..." Derek mumbles, barely paying any attention passed their proximity.

"Derek," Stiles wants to sound stern, but fails to do that, too. And she, too, can't help instinctively move closer.

Derek seems to back off, but doesn't actually back away. "You're still you." He nods, looks a little guilty, now. "And I'm... Not sure what I am, now." He scowls. "I don't know what my purpose is anymore. Not to mention the fact that you still have your own life. I can't just went myself back into it. And what with me being human, now - I'd just get in the way, make you worry, or worse, get you killed -"

"Stop." Stiles scowls up at him. "Why do you always have to pull up a pie chart on me?" She puffs out a chuckle as she shakes her head at him.

"Stiles," Derek sighs, slips his hands into her own and loosely laces their fingers. "I'm not saying that I don't want you. That's never been the problem, and trust me, it never will be." He smiles when she blushes again. "I'm just saying that it's worth it for us to wait, just so I can be sure that you're not gonna get hurt again."


	8. Big Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marin gulps as she glances warily between the two she wolves. "Big trouble."

"So, how does our grown-up plan work? You call me? Or I call you?" Stiles arches a brow as she walks him to her hotel door.

"It doesn't really matter." Derek says as they stop beside the front door. "We just stay in touch. But just not..."

Stiles almost wants to laugh at the scowl he wears. "Literally?" She asks, trying not to sound too bitter. "Funny." She scoffs lightly as his frown deepens. "Okay," She nods, motions towards the front door. "You better... Y'know..."

"Right." Derek nods, fully noticing how close they are again as he mumbles out, "Better to remove the temptation."

"Right." Stiles nods again, feeling rather awkward, now. "So... We'll talk soon..."

"Right." Derek nods again. He reaches for the door handle at the same time, his hand ending up on top of her own.

They both freeze for a moment, Stiles eyes raising and connecting back to his. They both stare at one another for another moment, the heat finally becoming unbearable.

Not so surprisingly, it's Derek who cracks first as he suddenly lurches forward and smothers her mouth with his own. However, Stiles is right behind him, gasping softly as her hands fly to paw at his stubbly cheeks.

Like most times they've been together, it's desperate and hurried. Derek slides his hands down to her thighs and hauls her body up to his. Stiles wraps her legs securely around his waist, and can't help smiling adoringly at his new found (human) clumsiness when he stumbles slightly.

Derek grunts when his back hits the wall, but ignores the pain as his hands quickly find her waist. He continues to devour her mouth, turning around as he does and pinning her against the wall instead.

"Derek," Stiles can already feel the heat pooling between her legs when his mouth suddenly moves to the crook of her neck. "Bed. Now."

"Which room?" Derek mumbles against her skin before attacking the same spot with his tongue and teeth.

"B-behind you." Stiles shudders wonderfully when he sucks a dirty hickie into her goosepimpled flesh.

Derek swirls around again, a little more graceful in his movements. He pushes the door in front of him open, spots the bed and instantly makes his way over.

Stiles can't help the small giggle that escapes her when he almost stumbles on his way.

Derek huffs as he drops them both down onto the surprisingly soft hotel mattress. "I'm glad you find it funny." He grumbles, glares rather pathetically and tries to bite back a smile.

"I'm sorry." Stiles grins, doesn't look very sorry at all. "I'm just used to you being all macho ballerina wolf."

"Macho ballerina?" Derek arches a brow, can't help smiling in amusement this time. "That's a new one."

Stiles rolls her eyes playfully. "You know what I mean."

"I do." Derek nods, his smile faltering slightly as he then, rather timidly asks; "That's... That's not a problem... Right?"

Stiles arches a brow, looks genuinely confused. "What's not a problem?"

"Y'know... Me..."

"You...?"

Derek huffs lightly, because why does she always have to make him spell out the words?

"Me being human, now..."

"Why would you being human be a problem for me?" Stiles looks deeply confused, now. "Wait - are you asking me..." She trails off, then, because it finally clicks for her. "Derek, I don't care what you are as long as you're happy. And healthy, obviously. Human or werewolf - there isn't a part of you that I don't love with all my heart."

Derek can't help, but smile at that.

And then, it's Stiles' turn to huff. "You big dope. You thought I wouldn't love you anymore just 'cause you're human, now? I'm human, too, y'know. It's not that bad."

"Yeah, but you're the most amazing human I've ever known."

"Ugh." Stiles wrinkles her nose. "I think being human has made you more of a sap."

Derek shoots her a withering look.

"Now," Stiles grins, practically beams up at him. "Are you gonna kiss me again or are you just gonna pout?"

+

[Two Hours Later...]

"Oreos! Don't forget the Oreos!" Stiles calls out, remember to raise her voice for the not-so-much-werewolf.

"I got 'em!" Derek calls back as he closes the fridge with his foot.

As naked as the day he was born, he pads quickly back through to the bedroom, arms and hands full of all the sugary treats Stiles brought with her - because yeah, okay, sometimes she gets stoned when she's bored and alone, and then she gets hungry...

Really, really hungry. Like so hungry...

Stiles chuckles as she watches him dump the treats onto the bed before hopping back under the covers beside her.

"One packet of Oreos." Derek picks up the packet and hands it to her. "Which, by the way, are the most disgusting things I've ever put in my mouth."

Stiles scoffs as she rips the packet open and shoves one into her mouth. "You have no taste." She says, mouth still full, on purpose, of course.

Derek wrinkles his nose, but can't help smiling in amusement, even as he scalds her. "You have no table manners."

"I have no manners at all. And neither do you." Stiles grins triumphantly when he glares at her. She reaches for the large tub of cookie dough, and plucks up one of the large soup spoons.

Derek watches her, brow raised slightly as she moans loudly.

"This is perfect. You're human for like, one second, and already there's nakedness and cookie dough involved." Stiles mumbles, smiling brightly over at her mate.

Derek chuckles at that and grabs the other spoon. "God, I love food." He grins. "Almost as much as I love you."

"Really? I love food more than you." Stiles grins innocently.

"Liar." Derek shoots her another pathetic glare.

"How would you know? You can't hear my heartbeat anymore." Stiles replies snootily, shooting him a playful, yet smug look.

Derek merely shoots her a withering look. Although, that fact finally hits him, the fact that he'll never be able to hear her or scent her or feel her presence. He quickly shakes off the miserable thought, not wanting to ruin this moment. He reaches up with a small spoonful and lightly smears the tip of her nose in cookie dough.

Stiles gasps, eyes then growing wide in horror. "Hey, no wasting!"

"I'm not wasting." Derek smirks as he leans forward and licks the melting cookie dough up.

Stiles wrinkles her nose, even when her skin prickles with heat. "I love you." She blurts out, heat rising to her cheeks, too. "I can't believe you thought my feelings for you could ever change. I mean, you're pretty God damn perfect, Der."

Derek dumps his spoon back in the tub, slowly raises his hand to cup her flushing cheek. He leans down, presses a soft, wet kiss to her lips, then mumbles against them, "You're too good to me."

"No," Stiles puffs out a little laugh, leans her forehead against his as she whispers, "I'm not good enough."

"Shut up, you idiot." Derek chuckles lightly, presses his forehead firmly against her own when he sees her slightly dimmed expression. "What're you talking about?"

"I love you, and I love Scott and the others, but I'm literally the only one of us who..." Stiles stares miserably at him. "I've killed people, Derek... I almost killed Scott, and you... Even my dad..."

"That wasn't you." Derek is quick to remind her, defiant to let her ever forget.

"No, but I let him in." Stiles mumbles, throat tightening by the minute.

"Because you had no other choice." Derek says, shoots her a stern look. "You were saving Malia. All you ever do is save us, Stiles. That's why he chose you. Not because you're our weak link or whatever is it you're thinking. But because he could cause the most pain to you. Because you love us so much."

Stiles shoots him a withering look, but only to keep from smiling at his words.

+

[Meanwhile at Bar 9...]

"Should we be drinking?" Boyd shifts uncomfortably in their booth. "It's only five, for crying out loud."

"Oh, loosen up, will ya?" Erica snips with a rolls of her eyes. "It's not like we can even get drunk." She adds quite miserably as she downs another shot of golden tequila.

"True." Cora nods. "Come on, just drink it. It's one beer. It's not even touch you." She grins over at the wolf, grin widening when she hears his pulse flutter prettily.

Boyd huffs, but easily (predictably) gives, finally picks up the fresh beer placed on the table in front of him.

"Well," Erica says after a moment of comfortable silence, and rather sarcastically so, "This is working out just awesome. We're out of a job, Boyd."

"Stop being so dramatic." Marin rolls her eyes at the blonde she wolf. "Besides, I'm out of a job, now, too. And you don't see me whining about me."

Both Cora and Boyd chuckle.

Erica scoffs at the eldest woman. "Oh, please! Like you even care. You're probably glad about it."

"Well, yeah, I'm happy for both Derek and Stiles, but if that also means no more painfully skull-splitting visions from the Jerks-That-Be, then who am I to complain?" Marin sums up with a chirpy grin before downing the last of her brandy.

Erica shoots her a pathetic glare.

"Come on, don't be a brat, just be happy for them. Or happy for Derek, at least." Cora says, shoots the younger she wolf a scalding look.

"Right." Boyd nods in agreement. "That guy's had one crappy life."

"That, he has." Cora nods, the both of them sharing a small smile.

"But what am I supposed to do, now?" Erica pouts. "I mean, I'm not all that experienced, so the jobs opportunities aren't exactly gonna be rolling in for me."

"Derek's not closing the store down." Cora says, shakes her head in dismay. "Remember that I own half of the place?"

"Oh, yeah." Erica grins.

Cora rolls her eyes. "I need another drink."

"On it." Marin cuts in, quickly rises from the end of the booth. "Same again?"

The trio nod in unison.

Marin nods, goes to repeat herself, "On -" and doesn't quite make it when her head begins to throb.

"Marin?" Boyd notices first.

"Oh, no..." Marin's vision clouds, the familiar sign of an on-coming vision. And then, searing, blinding, white, hot pain. It's so much that she can't even scream, can only clutch her head and stumble backwards.

"She's having a vision." Cora hisses, quickly, but silently rising to her feet. She grabs the woman by her shoulders, and slowly eases her back down into the booth.

Marin groans loudly, only a few seconds later, the visions never lasting more than that.

"You okay?" Cora asks, eyes her carefully.

Marin nods, waves her hand blindly with her eyes still screwed shut. "I'm good." She breathes out deeply and slowly, finally opens her eyes. "Need another brandy."

Cora smiles in amusement, nods, but it's Boyd to the rescue. "On it." He throws a smirk Marin's way when she glares at him.

"What'd you see?" Erica finally asks.

Marin gulps as she glances warily between the two she wolves. "Big trouble."


	9. Not Even for the Entire Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek huffs. "Not even for the entire universe."

As a human now, Derek can't last as long as he used, doesn't have the same stamina. So he's surprised when it's him who's worn out the most, but it's Stiles who falls asleep first.

They talked for hours, about nothing and everything, resulting in Stiles finally nodding off in the arms of her wol - human. Her everything.

The world passes Derek by, as Derek's world lays sound in his arms. This moment, for Derek, is the perfect moment. He wishes it could last forever, hopes with all of his heart that it does. But he's not that naïve, unfortunately. For the first time in a long time, he suddenly wishes he was.

A small smile tugs at the corners of Derek's lips as Stiles wriggles impossibly closer, presses her naked body practically into his.

"Nnnneh, Scott! Nnneh, dnnn put down toilet!" Stiles grumbles, presses her face into his chest.

Derek arches a brow, clearly amused. She always talks in her sleep, and it's just another adorable (sometimes disturbing - long story) thing he loves about her.

Stiles growls in annoyance, obviously very pissed off with dream Scott, for some reason.

Without his keen senses, Derek isn't aware of their company until he hears the front door of Stiles' hotel room open and closing. He scowls, annoyed at being interrupted, but also slightly wary of who it could be. He slips out of bed as carefully as he can, pulls the covers over Stiles' sleeping form and hurries to find his pants.

"Derek!?"

Derek's confused when he hears Marin's voice. He quickly pulls on his boxers and jeans before hurrying out. "Keep it down." He says when he spots both his emissary and his baby sister. "Stiles is sleeping."

Cora arches a brow, wears a smug grin when she takes in his appearance. "Well, so much for following the mature plan." She cackles quietly when he glares over at her.

"Okay, as exciting as all of this is," Marin cuts in, looks deeply flustered, and not in a good way. "We have a little problem of the Mayrah demon's mate being on his way to kill you and Stiles. Like, right now, as we speak."

Derek's eyes widen. "What? That thing has a mate?" He grits his teeth when both women nod. "Great. That's just great."

"It's really not." Marin says, only earning a withering look from the ex-Alpha. "Look, I had a vision, okay? This is the real deal. It's not just a hunch."

"Okay." Derek nods, letting her know that he believes her.

"So, where did you see it?" Cora asks the older woman.

"In the sewers. Probably the same place Derek and Stiles were tracking it." Marin explains. "This bitch is pissed. Seriously. She does not like you, or especially Stiles, seeing as she's the one who actually offed her husband or whatever."

"Well, then, I'll just have to kill her, so she can go join him." Derek says, sounds all too chipper.

"Uh, you what, now?" Cora asks, shoots him an "are you fucking kidding me?" look.

"You heard me." Derek shoots her a withering look, then turns to open the bedroom door. As silently and quickly as possible, he picks up the rest of his clothes.

"But..." Marin looks deeply puzzled. "You're human, now. They released you..."

Although, that doesn't explain why she's still having visions. It must be for a reason...

"You wanna let that thing just roam free? Let it kill again?" Derek hisses as he pulls his shirt and socks on.

"I saw it in a factory towards the end of the vision." Marin says, smiles sheepishly when Cora glares at her.

"Do not encourage him." Cora snips, then, glares at her brother. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"If you didn't want me to do anything about it, then, why did you come here and tell me about it? Huh?" Derek hisses back, pulls his shoes on and grabs his jacket.

"Because we're still pack." Cora retorts.

"Right." Derek nods. "So, you can track her, then, I'll can kill her. Pack work."

Cora's glare only darkens at his sarcasm and stupid smirk.

Derek turns to Marin. "You said you saw her in a factory."

Marin nods.

"There's a saline plant nearby the place Stiles and I were tracking her mate. It's probably a good place to start." Derek explains.

Marin nods again. "Sounds good to me."

"What!?" Cora snaps. "God! Fine! But if you die, I am gonna dance on your stupid grave."

"Morbid much?" Marin shoots the she wolf a horrific look.

Derek simply can't help smirking with amusement. "Look, just grab the book of Kelzaar, and we'll figure something out." He pulls on his jacket, grabs his keys from his pocket. "You girls read, and I'll drive."

Cora scoffs. Because of course she fucking hates this stupid shit plan.

"Don't you think we could use a little magical muscle?" Marin asks, motioning towards the bedroom door.

"No." Derek scowls, shakes his head.

Marin smiles. "Can't bare to wake her, huh?"

Derek huffs. "Not even for the entire universe."


	10. Extra Not Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Okay, this is extra not good."

A half hour later, Derek, Marin and Cora all find themselves walking around the perimeter of the saline plant. Thankfully, though, when they finally make they're way into the building, it's long since been abandoned.

Cora follows closely behind Derek, watching her big brother's back.

And Marin follows loosely behind the she wolf as she flicks through the pages of the Kelzaar codex. "Okay, this is extra not good." She pipes up, making the siblings stop and turn to face her. "Says here that the female Mayrah is twenty percent larger than the males." She shoots the ex-Alpha a pointed look. "Okay, I really think we should call Stiles. Or at least Vernon and Erica. We need backup. Cora's the only one here who can really hurt this thing, but even one of us won't be enough."

"She's right." Cora nods, shoots her brother a pleading look. "Even you and Stiles together had trouble taking this thing on."

"Call whoever you want. Just leave Stiles out of this." Derek says, his tone stern and final. He turns around, then, continues on through the building, dimly lit by the moonlight straying in through broken windows. His eyes sight is obviously a lot poorer, but he doesn't let that stop him as he grasps his battle axe at the ready.

Cora begrudgingly follows, glaring after him as she does. "I hope you know what you're doing." She grumbles.

"Look, if things are gonna finally work between Stiles and I, I'm gonna have to do something like this on my own eventually at some point." Derek huffs. "I may be human, now, but Stiles is still in the middle of all of this."

"Well, at least we know how to kill it." Marin says.

Derek nods and as they round the next corner, he almost throws up at the sight before him.

"Take it easy." Cora puts a hand on his shoulder when he wobbles and gags loudly.

"Oh, God... The blood... The smell..." Derek has to look away from the torn up corpse.

"Yep. It's never an easy sight. But it's just part of being human, now, bub." Marin wrinkles her nose as she ventures over to the barely recognisable body.

"Yeah, well, it sucks." Derek grumbles out, holding a hand over his overwhelmed nose.

"It sure does." Marin agrees with a nod.

Cora growls in annoyance when she realises - "Whoever they were was human." She crouches down, sniffs lightly. "The demon probably did this to lure you and Stiles out."

"I'm gonna fucking kill this thing." Derek growls out a very human growl.

"Yeah, well, just remember that the demon's deadly, effing brutal and -" Marin turns to face him, her eyes going wide when she sees movement behind him. "Here! It's here!"

Derek swirls around just in time to earn a solid punch to face. The force sends him flying back, but surprisingly, he doesn't get knocked out when his head hits the concrete.

"Derek!" Marin yelps frantically before rushing over to him.

Derek groans loudly, his head instantly starting to throb. And he can feel warm liquid trickling down from his left brow.

Cora roars in anger and lunges for the demon. She manages to land a few hard punches and kicks, but it's clear that this demon is too strong for her. Finally, she dodges too late and the demon sends a harsh backhand to her face. She goes sailing back, unconscious as soon as her head hits a concrete pillar, and smashes it to pieces.

"Cora!"

"Derek, no! It'll kill you!" Marin shoves him out of the way just as the demon appears before her with lightning-quick speed. Her eyes widen just as the she demon grabs her by the throat and tosses her carelessly aside.

Derek lifts his axe, but this is a demon and he is human, now...

And the Mayrah has him on his own, now...

Derek's axe is caught mid-swing, then, torn from his grasp and carelessly tossed aside. He wastes no time, however, and sends the hardest punch he can. He hits the demon, and glares when she doesn't even flinch.

The Mayrah shoots him an odd look before her arm snaps out quickly and snatches the ex-wolf up by the throat. She glares back up at him as his feet dangle off of the ground, hisses loudly, then cruelly tosses him back to the ground and sends a harsh kick to his stomach.

Derek goes flying back, lands on the ground with a loud thud and a sickening crack. That's at least three of his ribs, he thinks through the hot pain that suddenly shoots through him.

The Mayrah's beside him in an instant, and in the next moment, is kicking him repeatedly in the stomach, where he lays.

Derek fights back the urge to scream out in pain, instead grunts and groans each time her heavy boot collides with his tender flesh. And on a particularly hard kick to the chest, he finally begins to cough up blood.


End file.
